AN: Yay, another chapter is finally out. Honestly, this chapter should have been out earlier, but I had a bit of writer's block half-way through the chapter. I'm not sure if that will show in my writing, but I'm mentioning it now, just in case.
To my readers, especially ZephirusFye and Different Child, I'm going to start using the little reply button thingy to personally reply to all signed reviews. But, wow, only 30 reviews? That's about one review for every one thousand words. Whatever, like some of you have told me, that kind of thing doesn't matter.
On to the story stuff. The match in this chapter has a doubles pair that I'm pretty sure none of you would have guessed. Or maybe you would have if you think like I do. XD Also it'll have a couple of surprising twists. Anyway, here's chapter 10, enjoy!
Disclaimer: No, I don't own the Prince of Tennis or anything that awesome...oh well.
Chapter 10: More Trouble
Yukimura sighed. The last match had not gone as anyone had expected. He turned. Renji was completely silent. By itself, that wasn't very odd. But, the blank expression on his face spoke volumes.
Inui, on the other hand, was fidgeting as though he was nervous about something. He would also sneak quick glances at his data friend. 'At least he's feeling guilty about what he did,' thought Yukimura.
It also didn't go unnoticed that Fuji was still grinning like a maniac. In fact, the other regulars were attempting to inch away from him without the tensai noticing. Why did his friend have to be so creepy sometimes?
Shaking his head, he turned to Tezuka. The brunette took this as his cue to announce the next match.
The regulars from both teams watched Seigaku's captain as he began to speak.
"Minna! The next match is about to begin. When I call your name, please step onto the court. Now then, Doubles 2. Kawamura Takashi and Kaidoh Kaoru of Seigaku versus Masaharu Niou and Hiroshi Yagyuu of Rikkai."
The aforementioned tennis players walked onto the court. The others were whispering excitedly.
"Oishi, this is the first time those two have played together, nya!" Eiji said.
"Yes, Eiji," Oishi chuckled. "But, I wonder why Tezuka picked those two."
"Nya, I bet it has to do with the later matches. Those two were probably the leftovers and were shoved together," Eiji replied. (AN: guilty as charged :P)
"Eiji," Seigaku's mother hen admonished, "that's not very nice!" His redheaded friend just grinned.
"This is a rather surprising combination," Yagyuu pointed out. The four players were currently at the net.
"Y-yeah," Kawamura stuttered.
"Oi, Kawamura-senpai, here's your racket," Kaidoh hissed, handing him said object.
"Oh great, now we have to bleed out of our ears," Niou remarked, "puri."
"GREATO! I'M BURNING UP, BABY! GET READY TO LOSE!"
"Kawamura-senpai's way too loud, fshuuuu…."
The regulars were cringing in pain. Well, everyone except for Fuji. And, of course, Eiji noticed this first.
"Nya, Fujiko-chan, how are your ears not hurting?" When Fuji failed to respond, the acrobat asked again. The tensai turned his head and pulled an earplug out of his left ear.
"Ne, did you say something Eiji?" Everyone sweatdropped at that. Then, they turned back to the match.
Atobe pulled out his brand-new top-of-the-line cell phone. The rest of the folders were completely useless, but the one he'd found earlier required attention. Dialing Oshitari's number, Atobe quickly let his eyes scan the files. It was, by far, the best option available. Unless Oshitari found something better. 'No that's impossible,' thought the grayish-purple haired boy, 'there's no way anyone can beat Ore-sama at anything. Except that gaki, but he's unconscious.'
His musings were put on hold, however, when Oshitari picked up.
"Atobe? What do you want? You know I'm extremely busy right now."
"Shut it, peasant. Ore-sama has discovered a possible person to go to for help with the Echizen incident."
"Oh really?" came the semi-sarcastic reply. "Well then, who did you find?"
Oshitari chuckled lightly at the name his captain provided. "Coincidentally, Atobe, I found the same person online. So, it's our best bet for a solution. What do we do now?"
Atobe blinked. He actually hadn't thought that far ahead. Actually, he didn't think they would have found anyone, considering the vague field they were looking in. But, that didn't deter the egotistical young heir.
"Obviously, we find this person, Ore-sama bribes them with large amounts of money, and they help us."
"…Atobe, do you know who we're talking about? They won't be that easy to persuade."
"What are you talking about? Ore-sama doesn't know a single middle school student who wouldn't kill for a million dollars." (AN: yeah, they're in Japan and I used dollars. It's a lot simpler that way.)
Oshitari pondered this statement. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Of course. Ore-sama is always right."
"Atobe, I'm going to kill you the next time we meet," the blue-haired boy replied, his voice a bone-chilling hiss.
"We shall see, peasant." And, with that, Atobe hung up.
Ryoma waited for the shadow's serve, hopping slightly to put his one-footed split step to good use. However, he would never, in a million years, have guessed what would happen next. The serve hit the court and…rolled. It didn't bounce; it rolled, flying past Ryoma's feet.
"What's going on?" he pondered aloud. "How can it use all of these moves? Especially that last one. The Tannhäuser Serve is one of Monkey King's moves. Well, then again, I copied it."
Of course, Ryoma, being as oblivious as he is to anything not related to tennis, didn't stop to ponder the implications of that fact.
He prepared for the next serve, hoping to would be something a bit easier to return. Luckily for him, it was a perfectly normal shot, which he returned with a powerful forehand. Although he was an all-rounder, he generally preferred the serve and volley playstyle. And so, he rushed to the net. Dashing toward the left side of the net, he returned the ball with a backhand slice.
The shadow was at the net in an instant, using a technique that looked suspiciously like Higa Chuu's Shukuchihou footwork. Before the ball even started dropping, the shadow hit a drive volley straight at Ryoma. However, Seigaku's ace had experienced the same thing in his match with Akutsu Jin. He brought his racket up in time to return the shot. This time, his opponent hit a lob straight over Ryoma's head, landing just inside the court. The capped boy didn't even try to get to it.
Now, Ryoma was fuming.
"First he uses MY Drive A, and then he takes advantage of my height. I'm going to kick his ass."
What he didn't notice was that his old, arrogant self was beginning to shine through.
The score: 30-0.
Meanwhile, the Doubles 2 match had already started. However, it soon became obvious that the Kaidoh-Kawamura pair was not exactly a match made in heaven. Neither player was the playmaker type, meaning they had no strategy whatsoever. The result was defensive play against a very competent doubles pair from Rikkai.
In just ten minutes the score was already 4-1. And, that was only because Kawamura used the same serve that won him the match in the Nationals Semi-finals.
Ever since he recovered from his vast number of injuries in that match, Kawamura had been working on that serve. However, he was unable to recreate the incredible power of desperation. That was when Inui stepped in. The data man created a menu to increase Seigaku's powerhouse's strength three-fold. He also gave the brown-haired boy instructions on the technique required for the serve. It had taken many hours of exercise and torturous practice sessions, but Kawamura was finally able to hit that serve several times before feeling the effects of such a shot.
However, since he was the last to serve, that wouldn't help them much, unless they managed to take a few more games.
Then, Kaidoh noticed something.
"Kawamura-senpai, come over here," he called. Fortunately, Kawamura cooled down a bit and wasn't shouting anymore. When he was sure the third year was listening, Kaidoh continued.
"I've got an idea. I noticed that Yagyuu hits his Laser Beam down the middle. If that's the case, I want you to prepare a Hadoukyuu when you see the right stance. Hit it toward Niou if possible. He'll be at the net, where your shot is strongest."
Kawamura was shocked, to say the least. "Uh, Kaidoh, that's the most I've ever heard you say."
"I just don't want to lose, fshuuu…."
Kaidoh walked back to the service line and served. A rally ensued until they saw their chance.
Kawamura stood in the middle of the court, ready to hit a Hadoukyuu. Yagyuu noticed this, but it was too late. His Laser Beam shot straight toward the power player who did just as Kaidoh asked and hit it at Niou. Rikkai's trickster, ever the pragmatist, ducked. The ball slammed into the court and kept going. It flew straight through the caging, and lodged itself in a tree. Niou sweatdropped.
"That could have killed me, you idiot!" he yelled.
"Sorry, I guess I got caught up in the moment," Kawamura replied, rubbing his neck in embarrassment.
"Well, I know who I'm turning into," the gray-haired boy muttered. And, with that, he turned into Ishida Gin.
"….fshuuu…."
"Kaidoh, I think we need a new plan."
"Okay, try to set up a few chances for my Hadoukyuu Boomerang or Tornado Snake. That way, we can avoid those ridiculously powerful shots."
This appeared to work as they managed to take the next two games.
It was Kawamura's serve. The returning player was Niou. The brunette tossed the ball in the air, but his hands were slick with sweat and it flew off-center, meaning his incredible serve was not to be. Niou, disguised as Gin, was still upset about the earlier shot, so he returned the ball with Gin's 108th style of Hadoukyuu. This slammed into Kawamura leg, breaking it on impact.
"Tezuka, call Ryuuzaki-sensei!" Oishi cried as he rushed in with his first-aid kit.
And Tezuka did just that. When he heard his coach pick-up on the other end, he started talking.
"Ryuuzaki-sensei, where are you right now?"
"Tezuka?! I'm in a teacher's conference. Why, what's wrong?"
"Kawamura's leg is broken," came the terse reply. "We need you to take him to the hospital immediately."
"I'll be right there." Tezuka hung up.
Yukimura, meanwhile, was punishing Niou.
"Niou-kun, I understand you were upset by Kawamura-san's shot, but there was no reason to use such a dangerous move. Sanada, if you will."
"Of course, Yukimura. Niou, for your behavior, you shall be punished. Tarundoru!"
Sanada raised his hand. Niou braced himself for the hit he knew was coming, but it never did. He looked up to see Yukimura restraining his co-captain.
"Sanada, we've discussed this before. Although punishment is needed to keep people in line, violence is never the answer."
"…Like you should talk, puri..." Niou muttered.
"What was that?" Yukimura asked innocently. However, his sadistic aura was washing over the frightened boy.
"N-Nothing, Yukimura-buchou."
The blue-haired sadist smirked. "That's what I thought. Now then, Sanada, I believe you were dishing out some punishment."
"Ah. Niou, for the next two months, you will have to do as the first years do. That means you'll pick up balls, do drills, and won't play any matches. In other words, the only time you'll touch your racket is when doing 200 swings."
Niou's head drooped. "Hai, Sanada-fukubuchou."
Ryuuzaki Sumire arrived to a chaotic tennis court. The non-regulars were all blabbering on about nonsensical matters, while the regulars were gathered around Kawamura. She let out a gasp when she saw his leg. As tennis coach, she had seen many injuries, but none had truly prepared her for the sight before her.
Kawamura's leg was bent at a strange angle. Part of a bone had also ruptured the skin, and his leg was bleeding profusely. Oishi was doing the best he could to slow the blood flow, but he didn't want to make matters worse.
"Tezuka, why didn't you call for an ambulance?"
Inui cut in to save Tezuka on this one. "Ryuuzaki-sensei, I calculated that it would actually be faster for you to drive him to the emergency room. However, that's only if you go now."
Tezuka turned to the regulars.
"Momoshiro and Jackal, could you two carry Kawamura to Ryuuzaki-sensei's car?"
They nodded and hoisted him up, disregarding the blood that was seeping into their clothes. Sumire hurriedly escorted the two to her car. They all got in and she sped off toward the hospital.
When they arrived, the two tennis players, once again, lifted the injured boy and carried him through the automatic doors of the emergency room. As soon as the receptionist saw them, she acted.
Pressing the intercom button, she said, "I need a stretcher in the emergency room lobby immediately."
In less than a minute, two nurses rushed in with a stretcher, onto which Momoshiro and Jackal placed Kawamura. The three followed the stretcher to the same surgery room that Momoshiro was taken to.
"Déjà vu," he commented nervously. After a few minutes, a nurse stepped out.
"Kawamura-san will be in there for a while," she began. Eyeing the two tennis players in their tennis clothes, she continued, "If those two need to be at a game, you might as well take them back. There's no need for them to wait here."
"Do you two want to go back?" Sumire questioned the two boys.
"Yeah, Taka-san wouldn't want us to waste an opportunity to play some intense matches." Jackal nodded his agreement.
"Okay then, I'll take you back." She turned back to the nurse. "I assume I need to come back to fill out paperwork and all that other good stuff?"
"Of course," the young woman replied dryly.
And so, the three hopped back into Sumire's car and drove back to Seigaku.
Back at Seigaku, Tezuka and Yukimura were currently having a discussion.
"I think we should stop the matches for today," Tezuka said.
"I disagree," Yukimura replied. "I don't want to make my team go home and come back tomorrow. It would waste time, and it would kill the enthusiasm I see in their eyes."
"…Fine. We'll continue the matches, but first we need to clean up all this blood." Tezuka turned to the gathered freshmen and picked out the only three he knew.
"Horio, Kachirou, and Katsuo, go find a janitor who knows how to clean blood stains off of tennis courts."
The freshmen trio rushed off to obey their captain's orders.
About ten minutes later they returned with a rather annoyed janitor. He was an elderly man around the age of retirement. Without a word, he quickly poured a cleaning solution on the court, and started mopping it up. Within five minutes, the stain was gone, and the janitor packed up his materials. Then he turned to Tezuka and looked up in the eye.
"I don't know how you tennis kids get injured so often, but the next time one of you bleeds like that, get off the court before you mess it up. It's lucky it was still setting or that could have taken an hour to remove."
He shuffled off, muttering, "Crazy kids these days…"
Every single tennis player there sweatdropped. Then realization dawned on Eiji.
"Nya, Oishi, Oishi! Tezuka just got in trouble!" Unfortunately for the redhead, Tezuka heard this.
"Eiji, 100 laps."
"Hai, hai."
Ryoma struggled through the rest of the fourth game of his match. Somehow, the shadow was able to combine Shiraishi Kuranosuke's Perfect Tennis with Kaidoh's endurance and Kamio Akira's speed. Suffice it to say that Ryoma lost that game.
With a growl, Ryoma prepared to serve. He jumped…high. Then, he slammed the ball down to the court, replicating Sengoku Kiyosumi's serve.
"Kohou!" he exclaimed. The shadow returned with an awkward lob, which Ryoma took full advantage of. Still in the air, he smashed it toward the shadow's hand region, and was rewarded when its racket fell to the ground. The ball, once again, flew into the air, only to have Ryoma smash it back down to win the point.
"Rondo Towards Destruction," he said. Then, just for the heck of it, he added, "Be awed by my prowess."
But, Ryoma was starting to feel the effects of Muga no Kyouchi. His stamina was draining quickly, and, unless he did something soon, he'd be forced to deactivate it. However, he decided to continue using it for the rest of this game.
Ryoma pulled out another tennis ball. This time he tossed it up and bent over backward into an L-shape. Then he released the tension in his muscles, springing back and hitting a powerful serve, copying Kajimoto Takahisa's L-drive Serve. He then dashed forward, flipping his racket around so he was using a backward grip. When the return came to him, he hit it in a curved path, saying, "Viking Horn!" He managed to catch the shadow going the other way, giving him the point.
The next serve came from Rokkaku's Kurobane Harukaze. By pronating his arm, Ryoma was able to use the contraction of his muscles to perform a powerful serve. He met the return with intense topspin, making the ball 'disappear.' The shadow paused just long enough for the ball to speed by it. It was Chitose Senri's Kamikakushi.
Ryoma brought forth yet another neon green ball, tossed it into the air, and served.
Itoshiko wiped the sweat off of his brow. He, along with several other doctors and nurses, had been rushing around; putting Ryoma through several tests and finding seldom used medical equipment.
Ryoma had been put in the ICU, or Intensive Care Unit, immediately. They put him on oxygen, and used a few sedatives in hopes that his heartbeat would stabilize. Thankfully, after about five minutes, it did.
However, he wasn't in the clear yet. Itoshiko was personally running the boy through several test to make sure nothing had been damaged during the spikes in Ryoma's heartbeat.
A nurse walked in. "Doctor, now that Echizen-san has stabilized, do you want to move him back to his room?"
"Not yet. I'm pretty sure he's fine, but I want to be able to act instantly if something similar occurs."
"Of course." The nurse nodded, and stepped out of the room.
Itoshiko returned his gaze to his patient.
"You have caused a lot of trouble, do you know that?" he asked quietly.
Echizen Rinko was currently in her office, looking over some files. Her latest client was a victim of sub-par working conditions. The poor woman had been sitting returning after a conference when the ceiling fan, which was older than it should have been and had sharp, rusty edges, disconnected from it's fixture and plummeted toward her. She had managed to avoid a possibly fatal injury by diving to the side, but the fan had sliced into the woman's ankle, destroying bone and muscle tissue. The rust had also created infections. The result: the woman had her foot amputated.
Now disabled, the company refused to let her work for liability issues. Therefore, she was receiving no income. Coming to Rinko had been the woman's last resort.
Now Rinko had to bring the case to court. It was inevitable that her client would win the case, but the justice system was rather slow. Almost as slow as it's counterpart in the United States. Rinko was currently looking furiously for a loophole that would allow her to move the day of the trial forward.
However, the real reason she was so engrossed in her work was that it let her escape the problems in her life. Namely, the fact that her son was in a self-induced coma in the hospital.
When she went back through her client's personal information, though, she saw that she, too, had a son in middle school. Rinko hitched her breath as the events of the past few days rushed back to her in a wave of misery. Her eyes glistened with tears, but none fell.
"No!" she growled. "I have to be strong. That idiot husband of mine won't work, so I have to for us to have any hope of paying for Ryoma's medical bills."
Every member of Seigaku's regulars and their parents had offered to split the payment among themselves, but Rinko would have none of it. While she had been grateful at the gesture, she didn't want anyone else to suffer because of what happened to her son.
"I won't rest until I see my son walking around again."
AN: Yeah, I'm not sure what to think about that last scene. I actually added it as an afterthought because I thought Rinko wasn't getting enough time in the spotlight.
Anyway, wow that hospital might as well be Seigaku's personal hospital. I think I might have made Niou a little too OOC, but, hey, it's fanfiction, isn't it? That means the I control every aspect of their world. Hehehe...
As usual, if there are any grammar/plot/character inconsistencies, please let me know in a PM.
Oh, I have a few questions for anyone who knows the Prince of Tennis more than I do. Does Hyoutei have dorms? Also, I think I know who I'm going to use as the "possible solution" to the Echizen-Fuji problem, but I want to know who you people want to see. Restrictions: They can't come from Seigaku, Rikkai, Hyoutei, or Higa (I just don't like Higa for some reason). Also, they have to be relatively intelligent. I mean, come on, they have a web page and a file in the Atobe archives.
So, yeah, thanks again for all of your support. Review, please! (I've actually resorted to begging for reviews...for shame...) See ya in the next chapter!